The present disclosure is related generally to vehicle wheel service systems, such as vehicle wheel tire changing systems, vehicle wheel measurement systems, and vehicle wheel balancing systems, configured to generate and display an interactive virtual model of an actual vehicle wheel assembly undergoing service to visually illustrate wheel assembly or component runout, imbalance forces, imbalance correction weights, RoadForce™ and other information such as real-time movement and position of service system components during operation of the service system.
Vehicle wheel service systems generally facilitate different tasks associated with off-vehicle maintenance of vehicle wheel assemblies, which consist of a wheel rim and a tire mounted thereon. For example, vehicle wheel balancing systems generally function to measure imbalance forces present in the vehicle wheel assembly. These measured imbalance forces are used to provide an indication to the operator of the condition of the wheel and tire assembly, as well as amounts of imbalance correction weights to be applied in specific axial planes, and at specific radial and rotational positions about the wheel assembly, to compensate for the measured imbalances. Vehicle wheel tire changing systems, in addition to being configured with tools to manipulate a tire relative to an associated wheel rim, can be configured to measure physical characteristics associated with a wheel and tire assembly undergoing a service procedure, such as wheel rim runout, tire out-of-round conditions, or variations in tire stiffness. Additional types of vehicle wheel service systems include vehicle wheel measurements systems which are configured to measure various radial and lateral forces exerted by a rotating wheel assembly consisting of a wheel rim and tire mounted thereon.
While most vehicle wheel balancing systems and tire changing systems provide measured information and guidance to the operator in the form of digital numerical displays, such as by indicating weight amounts for placement at specific locations on the wheel rim, some vehicle wheel service systems attempt to provide the operator with guidance and information via a more intuitive interface. These systems provide a fixed or static display which is representative of a vehicle wheel assembly, and include annotations such as arrows or other markers to indicate the placement locations and amounts for imbalance correction weights or runout, or high and low regions of tire stiffness or Road Force™. However, these fixed displays are not truly representative of the actual wheel assembly which is being measured, and are not sufficiently interactive to enable an operator to easily visualize the effects of lateral or radial runout, measured imbalances, the placement of imbalance correction weight amounts which would result from altering parameters of the wheel assembly, or the effect of changes in the relative mounting of the tire on the wheel rim. Some vehicle wheel service systems acquire data associated with the surface of a vehicle wheel assembly, such as tire tread depth, and project it onto the surface of a wheel-shaped virtual object or static model for display to an operator. While this is a representation of the actual wheel undergoing service, such systems, still lack the ability to manipulate the projected data beyond providing the visual presentation or mapping of the measured or imaged data onto the skin of the static model.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a vehicle wheel service system with an operator interface including an interactive visual display of a virtual model of the wheel assembly, wherein discrete components of the wheel assembly and interacting elements of the vehicle service system, such as a wheel rim, tire, tools, and imbalance correction weights, are individually modeled and displayed. It would be further advantageous to present these components in a form which includes visual representations of various characteristics, such as runout, vibration, imbalance parameters, imbalance correction weight types, imbalance correction weight layouts, imbalance correction weight arrangements, imbalance correction weight placement locations, and tool positions.
Of further benefit to a vehicle service system operator would be to provide a visual display of a virtual model of the wheel assembly and interacting elements of the vehicle service system which is sufficiently interactive to enable an operator to manipulate the relationships of the virtual model components, such as the rotational position of the tire and the imbalance correction weights relative to the vehicle wheel rim, in order to view a visual representation of the resulting effects of the manipulation on overall runout, non-uniformity vibrations, force variations, and imbalance of the actual vehicle wheel assembly prior to actually adjusting the actual vehicle wheel assembly or installing imbalance correction weights.
It would also be further advantageous to enable the operator to view a real-time visual representation of the interactive components of the service system, such as articulated tools, as they are utilized during a service procedure from a safe location, away from automated moving components and any associated danger zones.